Abstract

The formation of zinc silicate phase in nanocomposite (nc) ZnO–SiOx thin films, its dilution by ion irradiation and subsequent developments were investigated. The nc ZnO–SiOx thin films used in the study were grown using rf magnetron sputter deposition on silicon (Si) substrates. Thin films were also grown on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids in identical conditions. The as-deposited films on Si substrates were annealed at 750 and 900°C in air for growth of crystalline zinc silicate phase. The as-deposited and 750°C annealed films were irradiated with 50MeV oxygen ions in the fluence range from 5×1011 to 1×1014 ions cm−2. The presence of zinc silicate was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the annealed films and by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy measurements. XRD and FT-IR analyses of the films show increase in zinc silicate phase with annealing and dilution of zinc silicate phase with irradiation. Photoluminescence (PL) analysis of irradiated as-deposited films show change in defects of ZnO. The results are explained in terms of possible ion irradiation induced modifications in the material.

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